Did the Squirrel Cage violate the liquor laws of its state? Did the Squirrel Cage bartender act responsibly in the service of alcohol to Mr. Hadley? Did she act differently from bartenders in similar situations? What should the owner of the Squirrel Cage do in the future, if anything, to minimize the chances of recurrence?

Mark Hadley entered the Squirrel Cage Tavern at 4:00 P.M. on a Thursday afternoon. He sat down at the bar and, according to eyewitnesses, uttered just a single word when approached by the bartender. The one word was "draft." The bartender had only one brand of beer on draft, so she silently pulled the beer, handed it to Mr. Hadley, and accepted the $5 bill he offered in payment. Mr. Hadley left the bar some 15 minutes later having never said another word to anyone, leaving the change from his $5 on the bar counter. Subsequently, Mr. Hadley was involved in an auto accident in which a 10yearold boy was rendered sightless. The boy's parents sued the Squirrel Cage Tavern and another operation, the Dulcimer Bar. The Dulcimer Bar was sued because Mr. Hadley had consumed 10 beers in three hours at that establishment prior to leaving it and driving to the Squirrel Cage. Attorneys for the Squirrel Cage argued that their client could not have known of Mr. Hadley's condition when he entered their establishment, and that they were indeed acting responsibly in that they served him only one beer. Attorneys for the injured boy countered that the Squirrel Cage had served alcohol to an intoxicated person, a violation of state law, and, thus, under the state's dram shop legislation, was responsible for Mr. Hadley's subsequent actions.